Marcello Lippi is thought to be planning a new look in attack for Italy when they face Slovakia. Photograph: Alessandra Tarantino/AP

Italy can take their inspiration from England. After a pair of toothless draws, Fabio Capello got the result that he needed against Slovenia to move England into the last 16 and his old friend Marcello Lippi intends to copy him.

The early stages of Italy's campaign here in South Africa have been almost identical to England's. The Azzurri's 1-1 draw with Paraguay was not a performance to set the pulses racing and their subsequent 1-1 draw against New Zealand prompted soul-searching and criticism back home.

Italy, though, are famously slow starters. In 1982, in one of their four World Cup-winning years, they scraped through the group phase with three draws and Lippi noted that the same return would suffice once more if Paraguay were to beat New Zealand in Polokwane.

The manager and his players, though, do not want to leave anything to chance, regardless of the omens. When they play the World Cup debutants Slovakia at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, they will look for victory in Group F. Confidence is high that the result will be theirs.

As England did, Italy, the past masters of tournament football, take heart from their destiny being in their own hands. And, like England, they also reason that they are due an improved performance. "We haven't done what we're capable of but we can still kick-start our World Cup," Lippi said. "We haven't been tormented by the wait for this game, the confidence is there."

Lippi said the two goals his team have conceded so far have come from the only efforts on target against them. Although worryingly they were both from free-kicks, he said his team has looked compact. The problem has been in the creation of chances and, with the playmaker Andrea Pirlo not yet fit enough to start in the wake of a calf problem, Lippi is considering an attacking reshuffle.

Claudio Marchisio has been a disappointment and he is expected to be dropped, with Riccardo Montolivo assuming his attacking midfield role and Gennaro Gattuso coming into the team in defensive midfield. Up front, Giampaolo Pazzini and Antonio Di Natale could replace Alberto Gilardino and Simone Pepe.

"Our best is yet to come and our first win would change everything for us," said the captain, Fabio Cannavaro. "We have no fear because that only drives you to make mistakes."